


Fabric in the Color of Resilience

by kibasniper



Series: Femslash February 2021 [5]
Category: Puyo Puyo (Video Games)
Genre: Band-Aids, Caring, F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February 2021, Fluff, Help, Mild Blood, Nail Polish, Secret Crush, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29213589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibasniper/pseuds/kibasniper
Summary: Biting her nails had always been a problem. Sometimes, Lidelle would gnaw on them until they were red and raw. Upon noticing the state of her fingernails, Raffina helps in a way Lidelle never expected.
Relationships: Lidelle/Raffina (Puyo Puyo)
Series: Femslash February 2021 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134674
Kudos: 18





	Fabric in the Color of Resilience

**Author's Note:**

> femslash february 2021 day 5: orange.
> 
> happy puyo day!! this was supposed to be a lillie/selene fic from pokemon sun and moon, but when i learned today was puyo day, i switched the pairings around last second! also, this fic is posted on the fourth so idk why it says the fifth :/.

Long sleeves prevented her classmates from noticing one of Lidelle’s bad habits. If anyone were to roll them back, they would see uneven, nail-bitten fingers. Her cuticles faced the brunt of her nervousness. Sometimes, she picked them until they bled on to the discolored surface of her nail plate, the red coloring it like polish.

Bandages helped, but sleeves provided true protection. She went on her merry way with her oversized jumper keeping prying eyes away from her hands. While others would have found them cumbersome, she adapted to her sleeves. Writing essays with her pen tightly gripped between the heavy fabric or casting spells with wide, swaying gestures for her atmospheric magic, Lidelle never let her hands slip out from their confinement.

But secrets kept by one person had ways of slipping out. It was only a matter of time until someone uncovered the truth by a simple mistake.

She nudged her pencil case off her desk during a test. Her erasers and pens scattered and rolled on the floor. Scrambling to collect them, Lidelle hurried out of her seat and nudged them into her sleeve, using it like a make-shift dustpan. She assumed she gathered them all until she spotted one of her erasers - her favorite in the shape of a yellow duck - by Raffina’s shoes.

Raffina noticed it as well. She bent over and snatched it when Lidelle reached out, straining her arm as far as it could go. They caught eyes for a brief second, but Lidelle could only let her mouth fall open when Raffina’s gaze traveled to her hand, exposed, covered in bandages splotchy with fresh scarlet. The way Raffina’s lips pursed together sent shockwaves down Lidelle’s spine, but she quickly grabbed her eraser, thanked her friend, and scurried to her seat. 

Tears pricked the corners of Lidelle’s eyes as she scribbled the remainder of her essay. She was unsure of how to conceptualize Raffina’s expression, and she dared not risk a second glance for another opinion. She only hoped Ms. Accord would not question the faint wet marks dotting the margins of her paper.

The bell mercifully rang. Grabbing her book bag, Lidelle shot to her feet and scampered to the front of class. She passed in her essay to her smiling teacher, knowing it was hardly finished. She’d accept a failing grade if it meant escaping the classroom as soon as possible.

Hurrying into the hallway, Lidelle gulped. Her finger flung to her mouth. She curled her thumbnail between her teeth, gnawing on the fabric, grateful it protected her from further bleeding.

“So, you bite your nails?”

Lidelle yelped and jerked her hand away from her mouth so quickly that her wrist popped. Her mouth dried at the sight of Raffina behind her. She leaned away, her shoulder pressing into a row of metal lockers. Mouthing Raffina’s name, Lidelle bowed her head and nibbled on her lower lip. Shame colored her cheeks a darker red than the blood gathering on her nails, and the color only worsened as Raffina narrowed her eyes.

“I wouldn’t usually be this annoyed by such a common bad habit, but seeing your hand in that shape really concerns me,” Raffina announced, and she shrugged her jacket off her shoulders. She held it out for Lidelle. “Now, you might feel too warm wearing this over your dress, but it will make sense in but a moment. Roll up your sleeves, and put it over you.”

Tongue-tied, Lidelle nodded. Words of protest formed in her mind, but Raffina’s presence silenced her conscience. She tucked her sleeves up to her elbows, allowing Raffina to see the extent of her habit. Bandages covered seven fingers and a thumb, the remaining digits exposed with nibbled cuticles and hangnails. She heard Raffina hum, the noise echoing in Lidelle’s skull louder than it sounded, and she mumbled an apology out of expectation.

“It’s unneeded,” Raffina said, reaching into her pouch. “Where did I-?” She furrowed her brow when she noticed Lidelle standing still. “Are you going to wear the jacket or not?”

“Oh! R-right, right,” Lidelle sputtered, sweat beading her brow.

She pushed her arms through the sleeves. The thick sleeves of her jumper caught by the elbows, but she managed to push her hands through to the ends. Despite the fabric bunching up and putting a strain on the seams of Raffina’s jacket, it fit snugly and extended past her waist on her shorter frame.

Lidelle took in a breath, the faint scent of Raffina’s perfume wafting around her. It smelled like the sea in the early morning. A deep calm washed over her, as if a wave had purled around her head. She also detected the earth, a subtle, rich spritz of honeysuckle. It must have come from the forest when Raffina had exercised before school. It must have stuck to her jacket all day. When Lidelle took another breath, she realized it also came from Raffina herself, appealing to her fluttering heart.

She traced the bow, and velvet caressed her palm. Moving her free hand down the side, she smoothed the creaseless fabric. Lidelle noted it was flexible and breathable. If it wasn’t, then Lidelle knew Raffina wouldn’t have been able to strike her opponents with such unbridled swiftness, the reminder of her friend’s prowess quickening Lidelle’s breathing.

“It’s a nice color on you,” Raffina remarked, Lidelle snapping her head up. 

“Th-thank you. Um, I hope I don’t stretch your sleeves with, well, my sleeves,” she admitted, eyes drifting to the ground.

She retrieved a bottle of nail polish from her pouch. “Don’t worry. I have several versions of this outfit. One with its sleeves stretched isn’t a bother to me,” she replied, uncapping the bottle. “Stick out your hands.”

Realization flashed in her expression. She drew back, her heel hitting the lockers. “Um, I get fidgety,” Lidelle blurted, tucking her hands inwards. “You, um, you might splash it on your clothes.”

Raffina cocked her head. She flicked her gaze between Lidelle and her nail polish. Clicking her tongue, she swirled the brush and gathered a decent amount of polish. “Well, I can assure you that I won’t. I’ve never once gotten any on my clothes.”

“That sounds far-fetched,” Lidelle said, smiling.

Her eyelids twitched. “And if I did, I was so young that I can’t remember it,” Raffina added, and she flicked the brush along Lidelle’s left ring finger.

A slick sheen of glittery, orange gloss coated her nail. Lidelle raised it to eye level, eyes widening. She rarely wore nail polish. The few times she had, she picked it clean off. But gazing at the fresh polish, with its silver glitter dotting the deep orange gloss, she found herself entranced without the urge to bite.

Raffina applied two more coats to Lidelle’s left thumb and right middle finger. Pocketing the bottle, she grinned. “There. It looks lovely on you.”

“I-it does! Um, but why-?” Lidelle swallowed. “Why would you-? For me?”

“Why would I do this for you? Because breaking bad habits is pertinent to self-improvement,” Raffina remarked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “With the nail polish, the bitter taste will derail your attempts to bite them. Additionally, you wouldn’t want to ruin such a nice color on you, right?”

Lidelle nodded, humming in agreement. Raffina’s reasoning was sound. Even with the natural doubts in her mind, she hardly felt compelled to retort. The taste would have been acidic if she bit her nail, and subsequently, she would destroy the pretty pattern Raffina gifted her.

Raffina patted her shoulder. Reaching up, she clipped stray, green locks behind Lidelle’s long ear. When Lidelle gasped and tried to cover her face with her sleeves, Raffina gently pushed her hands aside.

“You can keep my jacket until tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you,” Raffina said, and she parted with a grin and wink. “Ta-ta.”

Her throat constricted and trapped her goodbye. She watched Raffina leave, long hair swaying, stride confident. She disappeared in the crowd of students, and Lidelle watched for as long as she could, unbothered by glances from her peers when they leered at her fingernails.

Her heartbeat calmed as she left the magic school. Sunlight shined through the wispy clouds. Not a single shade of grayness tainted them. Lidelle smiled at the pure blue sky the color of Raffina’s eyes, hoping to one day share in the same resilience.

Snuggling into Raffina’s jacket, Lidelle giggled. Perhaps she could soak up Raffina’s confidence right out of the fabric with the likes of an absorption spell.

With that magic, maybe she would be able to tell Raffina how she felt, too.


End file.
